As he assumed the crease on Friday for his first NCAA start, freshman Quentin Sigurdson said his primary focus was “just trying to be a calming presence for the team.”
After practicing as the No. 2 goalie throughout the year, Sigurdson had already been thrown into the fire on three separate occasions this season — most recently against Harvard in the Beanpot consolation game on Monday, when starter Cameron Whitehead was pulled in the second period after allowing three goals on seven shots.
And after letting up just one goal in 33 minutes of relief work on Monday, Sigurdson prepared in practice and the lead-up to game time knowing the net would finally be his against UMass-Lowell.
With a chance to finally put his own stamp on the team, Sigurdson made the most of it.
Behind Sigurdson’s 33-save shutout in his first career start and freshman Joe Connor’s first multi-goal game, Northeastern secured a 2-0 victory over No. 13 UMass-Lowell at Matthews Arena. The win snapped a four-game skid for the Huskies, improving their record to 10-14-3 (5-9-3) ahead of a rematch on Saturday at the Tsongas Center.
“Happy for him because he works his butt off,” Northeastern coach Jerry Keefe said of Sigurdson. “He’s really prepared all week, and he’s gone through practices. He’s gotten better all year, kind of just waiting for his chance. And some guys take advantage of that, right? That’s exactly what he did.”
Though Whitehead has started all but one game for Northeastern since arriving on campus last year, the switch felt inevitable after Monday’s poor results.
Sigurdson is new to Division 1, but the 21-year-old freshman has played a lot of hockey in his career — most recently logging 36 starts for the NAHL’s Odessa Jackalopes (.923 SV%/2.56 GAA) and nine games for the USHL’s Chicago Steel (.896 SV%/3.11 GAA) last season.
“I know I can play at this level,” Sigurdson said. “That’s a big boost in my confidence, so I’m just trying to keep that going.”
UMass-Lowell drove 33 shots on Sigurdson’s net — including a 13-2 shots-on-goal advantage in the third period — but the Huskies had one of their sharpest defensive performances of the entire season in front of the freshman. Northeastern was quick to pucks in the slot and racked up a staggering 32 blocks, and the team was able to recover defensively when a few detail mistakes were made.
“Most of the shots were coming from a little bit outside and then we were doing a good job in front,” Keefe said. “[Sigurdson] had to make a few really good saves in there, but I thought for the most part, our D did a pretty good job tonight. We had some big blocks when we did have some breakdowns, that’s what you need.”
Heading into Friday, the trio of Jack Williams, Cam Lund, and Dylan Hryckowian had combined for multiple goals in eight of Northeastern’s nine victories. That makes sense given those are the Huskies’ three leading scorers by a hefty margin, but it also speaks to the team’s lack of depth scoring this season.
On Friday, all three were left off the scoresheet despite a number of good looks. Instead, Connor proved to be the difference.
The first goal was a one-man effort from Connor, who barged into the attacking end 1-on-3 and flicked a shot onto the net of Riverhawks goalie Henry Welsch, and then picked up his own rebound and buried the puck.
After the Huskies did not score in the opening 11 minutes of a game in over two months prior to Monday, Connor’s goal just 5:24 into the opening frame marked the second consecutive game where Northeastern scored in the opening six minutes.
“We always want to have one guy stay in on the forecheck,” Connor said. “And I ended up getting a shot, and then it bounced right out almost perfectly on my stick.”
Then, midway through the second period, Connor tallied his second goal on a penalty shot after drawing the tripping infraction by single-handedly muscling the puck free in the neutral zone to create a 1-on-0.
“It’s a big game for me, getting my confidence up and getting those two big ones tonight,” Connor said. “It’s been tough all season, but getting those two — that helped me out.”
Throughout his freshman season, Connor has shown plenty of flashes of the high-end skill that was advertised upon his arrival. But his season has also been a story of snakebitten bounces, constant line changes, and issues with taking too many penalties.
Keefe has remained adamant that the breakthrough was coming for Connor, who has the skill to be right up there with Williams, Lund, and Hryckowian atop the team’s scoresheet.
“The kid’s a heck of a player. He really is,” Keefe said of Connor. “It’s not easy as a freshman — you are trying to find your way, pucks aren’t going in. Maybe you don’t have the confidence that you usually do. But the last 10 games, he’s starting to string together some points. Tonight, I thought he was pretty dominant out there. So hopefully he can build on that and find his swagger.”
Another point of emphasis for the Huskies on Friday was the penalty kill, which was bludgeoned for four power play goals by Harvard on Monday in the Beanpot Consolation Game.
After Keefe and assistant coach Matt Harlow made some tactical adjustments to the unit during the week, the Huskies limited the Riverhawks (who entered the night at 22.5% on the power play) to just three shots on goal in six minutes of time on the man advantage, none of which were high-danger for Sigurdson.
“We were more disciplined tonight, and obviously did not take as many penalties,” Keefe said. So that was good for us. We got the kills we needed because the game was tight.”
The Huskies needed a thorough, top-to-bottom Hockey East win to right the ship coming out of the disappointing last-place finish in the Beanpot and four-game skid — and with a pair of freshmen leading the way, Keefe got the exact response he was searching for.
“We just had to bounce back,” Connor said. “We needed that one, and we got it.”
Northeastern returns to action less than 24 hours later at the Tsongas Center in a rematch against UMass-Lowell. Luke Graham, Matty Wasserman, and Amelia Ballingall will have the call on WRBB Sports+ at 6 p.m.